IRFU contacts Garda over sites selling Ireland vs England tickets for €889 to €3,119

The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) has said it is contacting gardaí about websites advertising tickets for the upcoming Six Nations clash between Ireland and England in the Aviva Stadium at prices ranging between €889 and €3,119.

Ticket touting and the practice of reselling tickets above face value was banned in 2021 after the Sale of Tickets Act was brought into force by then-tánaiste and minister for enterprise Leo Varadkar.

Under the law, venues can apply to be listed as designated venues if the operator is of reasonable opinion that it will hold events that will give rise to over-priced secondary selling. The Aviva Stadium is listed as a designated venue.

The law bans the resale of tickets to live events, matches and concerts in designated venues at prices above face value.

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The Act includes fines of up to €100,000 or possible prison terms of up to two years for the above-cost selling of sports tickets.

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According to the Department of Enterprise, enforcement of the Sale of Tickets Act is a matter for gardaí.

Midi Olympique, a French newspaper, reported that touts were looking for between €1,000 and €2,000 per ticket from travelling fans on the morning of last weekend’s game.

The Irish Times, meanwhile, found advertisements on two “ticket marketplace” websites based abroad that listed prices for the March 18th match against England with prices far above the €80 to €135 charged by the IRFU for tickets for seats with unrestricted views in various parts of the stadium.

Ticombo listed prices quoted by “trusted” sellers ranging from €1,047 to €3,119 in various parts of the stadium.

Elsewhere, Seatsnet listed prices ranging between €889 and €1,675, again depending on where the seats are in the Aviva.

In a statement, the IRFU said: “The IRFU is unequivocally against the resale of tickets above face value and our terms and conditions reflect this.”

It added: “We’re aware of these sites but they rarely ever advertise the actual seat numbers etc, so it is very difficult for us to trace the origin of the tickets.

“However, we will continue to monitor them and will pass the information on to the gardaí to take whatever action they deem appropriate in accordance with the Act. We will continue to support the authorities on this.”

The IRFU confirmed it was contacting gardaí about the two websites on Tuesday evening.

Gardaí could not on Tuesday evening offer details on what action is taken when websites advertise above-cost sales of tickets.

On the issue of in-person match-day ticket touting, a statement said gardaí on duty at the Aviva are briefed on ticket touting activities at all fixtures and such activity is monitored at each event.

The statement said gardaí are “not aware of any complaints of ticket touting” on the day of the Ireland vs France game last weekend.

No arrests were made and the statement said: “There are no investigations ongoing in respect of ticket touting for this fixture.”